Discover
NEA Grant supports upcoming recording
Cedille is pleased to share that the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has awarded a grant in support of Black Being, an upcoming recording project featuring a recently co-composed work by acclaimed duo Flutronix (Nathalie Joachim and Allison Loggins-Hull). Joining Flutronix is Chicago’s leading chamber orchestra, the Chicago Sinfonietta (Mei-Ann Chen, Music Director). Black Being explores the black female experience in an evening-length music performance. For this immersive electroacoustic presentation the Flutronix duo set newly commissioned text by North Carolina poet laureate Jaki Shelton Green. Through themes of strength, sacrifice, beauty, fear, and survival, Black Being gives voice to the complexities of Black womanhood and provides a musical lens into black female cultural realities and conditions.
On the importance of recording this work, Joachim says:
“This project is a revolutionary opportunity and serves as a bold statement, by using the symphony orchestra, which is the pinnacle of western classical music … to elevate and celebrate Black women.”
Flutronix’s concert premiere of Black Being was lauded by the Chicago Tribune as “the most stunning live performance” and listed among Chicago’s Top 10 Classical Music shows of 2021. In 2022, the duo premiered the large-scale adaptation of the work (the version to be featured on this recording) with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Mei-Ann Chen. Cedille looks forward to recording and releasing this project next year. Stay tuned for more updates!
Recommended
Out November 13 – “Powerhouse” (Chicago Tribune) composer Mischa Zupko and Grammy-winning saxophonist Timothy McAllister highlight their decades of collaboration on this upcoming release.
Out now – Pacifica Quartet’s final album in the American Collections trilogy – American Portraits. Bringing together touchstones of the American repertoire, American Portraits features some of the most canonical American chamber works alongside world premiere recordings of two newly commissioned works.
In celebration of this month’s release of In Sympathy, an album comprising Chicago composer Mischa Zupko‘s works for saxophone, a playlist of wind instrument featured tracks from 35 different Cedille albums and singles. We’ll add one from “In Sympathy” when it “drops” on 11/13.
On Sunday, September 27 many of Chicago’s most enthusiastic classical music supporters gathered at Venue SIX10 to celebrate Cedille Records with wonderful performances, meaningful presentations of our annual awards, and delicious food and drink.